District of Columbia Permit Practice Test 4
A fourth full-length District of Columbia practice test: 30 more questions with zero repeats from Tests 1–3 — including extra District of Columbia-specific rules. Check the DMV site for the current question count and passing score.
Tap an answer. The explanation opens so you can learn it, then go on. Keyboard: A–D or 1–4 to answer, then Enter or Space.
Question 1 of 30
1. Unless a local sign posts a different number, how far must you stay from a fire hydrant when you park?
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Correct answer: B. Most state handbooks use a 15-foot keep-clear zone at hydrants so firefighters can hook up hoses without moving cars. Fifteen is the number social-study threads keep missing. If you can touch the hydrant from the door, you are too close.
2. In District of Columbia, a driver who is 21 or older breaks the law by driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above what level?
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Correct answer: A. District of Columbia law makes it illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.08% or higher. Alcohol slows judgment and reaction time, and impairment can begin well below that number. Treat 0.08% as a legal line, not a safe target.
3. A 19-year-old driver in District of Columbia says a single sip cannot matter. Under the under-21 rule, the limit is which of these?
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Correct answer: B. District of Columbia applies a zero-tolerance rule for drivers under 21: any detectable amount. A sip can be enough. If you are under 21, the only safe plan is no alcohol before driving.
4. Which statement correctly describes District of Columbia's published graduated-licensing rules for new drivers?
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Correct answer: A. District of Columbia's GDL summary from the DMV: New drivers under 21 in the District enter the GRAD program, which moves through a learner permit, a provisional license, and then a full license. Permit holders must be at least 16 and may drive only between 6:00 am and 9:00 pm; a provisional license requires holding the permit six months, 12 consecutive months without a points-assessable offense, a certification of 40 hours of practice with a tutor 21 or older, and a road skills test. Provisional drivers may drive from 6:00 am until 10:59 pm Sunday through Thursday and 11:59 pm Friday and Saturday during September through June, and until 11:59 pm daily in July and August. At 17, after six months on a provisional license and 10 certified hours of night practice, you can move to a full license with conditions, which caps passengers under 21 at two (siblings excluded); driving-hour and passenger limits end at 18. Those details — hours, passengers, practice logs — are what real exams poke at. Reread them the night before you test.
5. In places where marijuana can be bought legally, how do the laws treat driving while high?
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Correct answer: D. Legal to use does not mean legal to drive impaired. Marijuana slows reactions and distorts judgment of time and distance, so impaired-driving laws still apply everywhere. Treat being high exactly the way you would treat being drunk.
6. You are counting down the days until you can start driving in District of Columbia. The earliest age you can hold a learner's permit is which of these?
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Correct answer: D. The countdown ends at 16, the minimum learner's permit age in District of Columbia. Starting at the minimum is smart: more months of supervised practice before licensure means more experience with traffic, weather, and night driving while coached.
7. A yellow line runs down the middle of a two-lane road. What does the yellow color of a center line tell you?
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Correct answer: A. Yellow center lines separate traffic moving in opposite directions, so anything across that line is oncoming. This color code works the same on every public road. Yellow in the middle means traffic meets there, not follows.
8. How close to a District of Columbia fire-station driveway may you park?
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Correct answer: A. 18 DCMR § 2405.2 forbids parking within 20 feet of a fire-station driveway entrance in the District of Columbia. The extra clearance lets apparatus leave without swinging around a parked car. Twenty is the firehouse number; ten is the hydrant number.
9. Under District of Columbia law, driving how far above the posted speed limit counts as reckless driving?
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Correct answer: C. Going 20 mph or more over the limit is reckless driving in the District, and 30 mph or more over becomes aggravated reckless driving. Speeding stops being a simple ticket and becomes a serious charge.
10. You are pulling out of a driveway onto a public street. What must you do?
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Correct answer: D. A driver entering a road from a driveway, alley, or private road must yield to sidewalk pedestrians and to all traffic already on the roadway. Public-road users cannot predict your exit, so the burden is on the driver emerging.
11. When do reduced school zone speed limits typically apply?
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Correct answer: D. School zone limits usually apply during posted times, when the zone's beacons flash, or whenever children are present. Kids are small, quick, and unpredictable near schools. When you see the zone active, drop your speed and cover the brake.
12. A yellow diamond sign shows a side lane curving in to join the main road ahead. You are on the main road. What does the sign mean?
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Correct answer: C. A merge sign warns that another roadway joins yours ahead. Entering drivers must yield, but you should adjust your speed or change lanes when safe to open a gap. Merging works best when both drivers cooperate like a zipper.
13. A freeway on-ramp has a recommended speed of 35 mph on a yellow plaque. The freeway is posted 65. What should you do on the ramp curve?
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Correct answer: B. Yellow advisory speeds mark ramps and curves that cannot be taken at the highway limit. Slow for the curve, then speed up in the acceleration lane. Advisory plaques are the voice of physics, not decoration.
14. You are comparing District of Columbia with a neighboring state that uses 0.08%. For an adult driver in District of Columbia, driving is a per-se offense at which BAC?
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Correct answer: A. Do not assume every state still uses the same adult number. In District of Columbia the per-se line is 0.08%. Utah famously uses 0.05%; most others use 0.08%. Learn your own state's figure.
15. How does NHTSA describe the graduated driver licensing system?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA GDL guidance says GDL is a three-phase system for beginning drivers, consisting of a learner’s permit, an intermediate license, and a full license. GDL allows beginning drivers to acquire driving experience in less-risky situations and under direct supervision during the learner’s permit phase.
16. On any road sign, what does the color red signal to drivers?
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Correct answer: D. Red is reserved for the strongest commands: stop, yield, do not enter, and wrong way. It marks actions that are forbidden or must halt. When red appears, something about your movement has to change right now.
17. You have signaled and checked your mirrors before a lane change. What is the one step left before you move over?
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Correct answer: C. Mirrors leave blind spots big enough to hide a whole car, so turn your head for a quick over-the-shoulder check before moving over. Signal, mirrors, head check: the lane change is not done until your neck moves.
18. In District of Columbia, supervised behind-the-wheel practice with a permit can begin once a teen reaches which age?
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Correct answer: C. Supervised practice starts at 16 in District of Columbia, once the teen holds a learner's permit. Every practice hour with a licensed adult builds judgment that classroom study alone cannot teach, which is why the permit stage exists.
19. Two solid yellow lines run down the center of the road. What do they prohibit?
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Correct answer: D. Double solid yellow lines ban passing for traffic in both directions, because sight distance or traffic makes passing unsafe there. Crossing is generally allowed only to turn into a driveway or side road, not to overtake.
20. Drivers under 21 in District of Columbia are held to a stricter alcohol standard than adults. What is the BAC threshold for these younger drivers?
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Correct answer: B. Adults have a higher per-se number, but the under-21 standard in District of Columbia is any detectable amount. Alcohol is already off-limits for minors, so the driving rule matches: for young drivers, the practical limit is zero drinks.
21. A District of Columbia traffic signal shows a flashing yellow arrow after you have been held by a red arrow. What may you do?
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Correct answer: A. 18 DCMR § 2103.8 already requires a District of Columbia driver facing a steady red arrow to remain stopped until a green arrow or a flashing yellow arrow permits the movement. The flash is permissive: yield, then go that way. It is not a protected green arrow.
22. An emergency vehicle is coming up behind you with lights and siren on a two-lane street. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. Pull to the right and stop, clearing the lane. If you are in an intersection, clear it first, then pull over. Do not slam-stop in the path. Lights and siren mean yield the road, not freeze in the middle.
23. A round yellow sign with a black X and the letters RR is posted well before a crossing. What does that advance sign tell you?
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Correct answer: A. The circular railroad advance sign gives you time to slow, scan both ways, and be ready to stop. Do not stop on the tracks. Circle plus X means rails are coming; the crossbuck at the tracks is the actual yield-to-train sign.
24. The vehicle ahead displays an orange triangle with a red border on its rear. What does that tell you?
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Correct answer: D. The orange triangle is the slow-moving vehicle emblem, common on farm equipment and horse-drawn wagons. You close in on these vehicles faster than you expect, so back off early and pass only with a clear, legal gap.
25. You are in a left-turn lane facing oncoming traffic, and the signal shows a steady red arrow. What does the arrow mean?
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Correct answer: A. A steady red arrow prohibits the movement it points toward; you must stop and stay put until the signal changes. It shields turning drivers from crossing busy oncoming lanes. Think of a red arrow as a closed gate.
26. If your car stalls on a railroad track, what does NHTSA say to do first?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA railroad-crossing guidance says If your car stalls on a track, quickly get everyone out — even if you don’t see a train coming. Run away from the tracks and your car to avoid being hit by flying debris. Call the number on the blue emergency notification system sign.
27. Which parking spot is illegal no matter how briefly you plan to stay?
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Correct answer: D. Parking within the cleared space around a fire hydrant is illegal, because firefighters may need instant access to connect hoses. Blocking a hydrant can cost lives during a fire. If you see a hydrant, leave the whole area open.
28. It is late at night and the unposted residential streets in your District of Columbia neighborhood are empty. The legal maximum for these streets remains which speed?
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Correct answer: C. Empty or busy, day or night, the default limit on unposted residential streets in District of Columbia stays 20 mph. Darkness actually cuts how far you can see and react, so conditions may call for less, not more, than the limit.
29. A quiet electric car is coming up behind a pedestrian in a parking lot. What extra care should you take?
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Correct answer: B. EVs and hybrids are hard to hear at low speed. Handbooks increasingly mention that quiet approach. In lots and on neighborhood streets, expect people to step out without looking. If they cannot hear you, you have to see for them.
30. In District of Columbia, state law sets a default limit for residential districts that applies wherever no speed limit sign is posted. That default is which of the following?
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Correct answer: B. District of Columbia law fixes the unposted residential default at 20 mph. Lawmakers keep it low because residential streets are full of crossings, parked cars, and pedestrians. Remember: no sign means the default applies, and posted signs override it.
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